We were planning to take the bus into the capital town of Valletta today and on the way we stopped at the car rental office to book a car for tomorrow but they told us they had no cars for tomorrow but could rent us one for today for four days total cost including gas and insurance was 100 EUROS 💶 ..So we decided to do that plus we had heard the buses would be crazy busy.....Malc always drive so this time it is in my name and he can relax and navigate..
Say hello to
karozza bajda ftit
Which is Maltese for little white car!!
Malc directed us to where we could park to take the small ferry across the bay to Valletta..
Valletta, Malta's capital city and UNESCO World Heritage site
Valletta has been built on a peninsula in the central eastern part of Malta and has a population of just over 6000 people. Valletta is named after the French Grandmaster Jean Parisot De La Valette who headed the defence of Malta from the Ottoman invasion in 1565. The entire city of Valletta has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Valletta boasts many buildings from the 16th century, mostly baroque architecture that was built by the Knights of St. John. Amongst them is the majestic St. John’s Cathedral, several auberges that hosted the Knights in their times, the bastions surrounding the city, and several gardens. In fact, one could say that Valletta is actually a monument donated by the Knights.
Nowadays, Valletta hosts the National Parliament, the Law Courts, many Government Ministries and Departments, Administrative Offices, museums and plenty of shopping opportunities. The streets have a grid-like shape, so one could never really get lost while navigating through this open air museum.
The city is busy by day, but the Upper & Lower Barrakka Gardens offer a calm spot with incredible views of the Grand Harbour. Then as the sun sets, Valletta calms down and turns into a magic fortified city where the architecture stands out under the gentle lighting. Yet, with plenty of cafes, wine bars, theatres, exhibitions and other cultural events from time to time, Valletta is a living city all year long.
The upper Barrakka gardens is where we walked to first to witness the 12 noon ceremonial firing of the canon..it was a fun time with loads of tourists...
We then decided to split up and do our own thing and I just wandered through the streets taking photos and then went to see a great imax type movie about the history of the island which was very informative and interesting.
The about event also included a tour of the old hospital..
Interestingly this was a state of the art hospital in its day with hundreds of beds but was for men ONLY!!!!
Now it is used for conventions and weddings...
We met back up at the ferry terminal and we all agreed it was a nice afternoon and the city is very beautiful and full of wonderful architecture!!
Back at the apartment bit was time for some down time before we went out for dinner I was not so hungry but went with J & M and sat with them whilst they ate.
The usual late night entertainment..scrabble!!!
Could this be a start of a run away??
Yashi Kochi!!!
3 comments:
Wonder why the hospital was only for men; maybe there was another strictly for women.
By the way, another blogger, Colin and Contessa Jewall, are currently in Rome; they are Canadian friends of Croft and Norma. Just before they left Naples, Contessa took a bad fall on the cobblestone streets; she fell so hard Colin could not catch her. She cut up one knee and sustained severe bruises on her side, a side where she had a hip replacement in Canada. I'm waiting to hear if she will be able to continue the trip after her injuries. My point is that you guys make sure your shoes have a lot of grip on the sole and have the qualities to be sure-footed. I know women like the very stylish shoes, but a lot of those shoes are not made to take on bad and uneven walkways in these old countries dating back to the beginning of time.
The car was a good idea; you will be able to cover more territory that way.
PS. In your header photo, you really captured the action of the cannon going off in that photo! Two things that are hard to capture clearly, something or someone in motion and flowing or rapidly moving water like in a waterfall.
Thanks and no we have good shoes and
Try to be careful les
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